How to write a great persuasive essay

If you aren’t familiar with this type of writing, the main goalof any persuasive essay is to convince or persuade readers tobelieve your opinion.

It can be easily achieved through the useof emotional appeals and logical arguments. Although there is noone right way to complete this academic assignment, but you canuse some good practices, rules, and hints to submit a brilliantdraft. Its correct organization and structure are integralcomponents. No matter how clever your ideas are, essays that lackwell-organized body paragraphs, a strong introduction, and aninsightful conclusion will never succeed and help you earn bettergrades.

The definition of persuasive papers

Persuasive writing uses reasoning and logic to prove that oneidea is more correct and legitimate than the other one. Besides,it tries to persuade readers to adopt a particular opinion ortake specific actions. A strong argument always uses solidevidence and sound reasoning in the form of giving logicalreasons, stating facts, quoting experts, or using examples.

How to create an effective essay plan

When planning persuasive papers, take these simple and helpfulsteps:

Pick a specific position and know the main purpose of yourwriting. What side of a controversial issue do you choose? Whatsolution can you offer?

Analyze targeted readers and determine whether they areneutral, agree with your stance, or disagree with you at all.

Research the chosen topic to gather convincing and specificevidence. Sometimes, you may need to go beyond your current levelof expertise and knowledge, so it’s worth going to libraries orinterviewing experts in a given field.

Structure your persuasive essay and determine the evidencethat you want to include and the right order, in which you willpresent facts. Take into account your topic, audience, andpurpose.

Essential criteria to present effective arguments

Test a thesis because it should be debatable and have 2sides. If you can easily make a statement that opposes yourthesis, you’re on the right way.

Stay well-informed about the chosen subject. Read a lot aboutit to add more knowledge, use reliable sources, and take valuablenotes.

Disprove all opposing arguments. To counter them, you shouldunderstand the opposite side and offer contrasting evidence orfind some inconsistencies and mistakes in its logic.

Support your stance with enough evidence that appeals toreasoning.

Effective ways to support arguments

Facts are quire powerful tools of convincing, and they cancome from personal observations, experiences, or reading, butdon’t confuse them with the truths believed by many peoplebecause they can’t be proven.

Direct quotes from leading experts in the chosen field areinvaluable because they help you support your opinion.

Statistics offer effective support, but they must come fromreliable sources and be cited correctly.

Examples strengthen your meaning and make all argumentsconcrete while being strong proofs.

Basic characteristics of strong arguments

Accuracy because they’re taken from at least a few sources ofinformation.

Representativeness because your arguments are based on vastopinions;

Adequacy because these are very important points that supportyour stance in most detail.

Provide as much details as possible.

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There are certain tips that should be used when putting anyevidence in your persuasive essay:

Use statistics accurately;

Distinguish facts from speculations and informed opinions;

Use logic and reasoning to connect your evidence to majorpoints;

Use examples to demonstrate why, entertain readers, orclarify the main meaning;

Use anecdotal evidence and personal experiences sparingly.

Defining the main purpose and targeted readers

Understanding the main purpose of persuasive writing is one ofthe best ways to help you match your paper with the uniqueelements of this assignment. As the name suggests, the number onepurpose is convincing or persuading others of something, likeyour opinion or position about a particular debatable issue.

However, all persuasive papers also serve a secondary purpose,which is informing the audience about this issue. If you focusmore on informing others than persuading, you end up withexpository essays.

If you find it hard to distinguish your assignment, talk toinstructors and get their clarifications about similarities anddifferences of essay types. The targeted audience and the mainpurpose of your paper determine the number of words you write,the language you use, and the level of detailing necessary tocommunicate your chosen position efficiently and persuade othersto consider your point of view. Identify future readers andestablish a major purpose to get on the right track beforegetting started.

Major persuasive paper parts

Everything starts with writing an introduction, which must have acertain grabber or hook to catch the attention of other people.Some of the most effective and popular grabbers include:

Openings with strong statements;

Openings with unusual details;

Openings with interesting quotes;

Openings with funny anecdotes because they’reattention-getting and amusing, but make them brief and to thepoint;

Openings with questions;

Openings with facts or statistics because they add moreinterest and emphasis to the chosen topic;

Openings with outrageous statements or exaggerations.

Make sure that your essay introduction also includes a focusstatement or a thesis, which is normally only 1 sentence long. Itserves as the foundation of the rest of your paper and guides youin writing it. Any thesis statement has a few basic objectives:

Imposing manageable limits on the given topic;

Telling readers your specific subject;

Suggesting your essay organization.

The basics of body paragraphs

Provide evidence to back up your opinion introduced in a thesis.The main body of your persuasive essay must consist of 3 or moreparagraphs, and each one should be based on solid reasons tobelieve your statement. Since all issues have strong arguments onboth sides, a successful paper tries to anticipatecounterarguments and viewpoints. Make sure that one of theseparagraphs is used to introduce opposing arguments. Use effectivetips to structure body paragraphs successfully.

First, make your opinion clear in a topic sentence and state yourreason or argument to support it. Think about the things thatshould be further explained and determine how to elaborate them.

Include concession statements or address opposing viewpoints.When writing persuasive papers, start with a concession oracknowledging that a part of opposing arguments is valid. It’snot a form of weakness, unlike many students may think. Allconcessions are strengths because they help you find commongrounds with opponents while establishing the ethical appeal thatyou’re a reasonable person who is willing to listen to othersides of the given issue. You can’t just ignore compellingcounterarguments because the strongest ones must be addressed inyour essay. Otherwise, you won’t seem someone well-prepared fromall perspectives.

Use special transitions between sentences and paragraphs becausethey serve as helpful clues for readers.

How to finish your essay with a perfect conclusion

All persuasive papers end by summing up the most crucial pointsof the main argument and restating what the audience shouldbelieve or do. So, you need to restate your focus statement orthesis and summarize essential facts. A concluding paragraphenables readers to recall them all, but try to paraphrase thesepoints. Write personal comments or call for action by using thefollowing effective methods:

With predictions that suggest possible results in a givensituation or similar events;

With questions that let other people who read your essay maketheir personal predictions and conclusions;

With the recommendations that stress the remedies or actionsthat should be taken in the future;

With quotes because they can serve different purposes, suchas predicting, summing up, calling for action, and questioning.

In addition, use general persuasive writing guidelines, such ashaving your firm point of view that you want other people toaccept. Start your essay with a hook or a grabber to get theirattention instantly. Offer strong evidence to support your stanceand conclude with a restatement of what readers should believe ordo.